National boss Rodney Gillard unwraps why Enyaq costs what it does – and assures ongoing commitment to value.

ARRIVAL of Enyaq doesn’t mean the end of affordable Skodas, but it does signal that ‘premium’ is set to be part of its push within the electric-sphere.

Rodney Gillard, boss of Skoda New Zealand, is clear about that. The man who has had his share of successes with this brand – none larger than landing the El Gordo of fleet contracts, supplying NZ Police – says bringing the first all-electric car into local availability opens the door to new opportunity, But it isn’t without challenge. Reality is, electric tech – even when provisioned by a monolith like VW Group – isn’t cheap, or easily accessed.

So there’s Enyaq. Three versions, all well-dressed, all expensive. Before the Enyaq Coupe, it’s potentially likely the only modern-era Skoda asking more than $100,000 – or anything near that – was Ben Hunt’s works-sorted rally car, imported for the current national championship.

What risk a loyal customer base might start to look elsewhere; who exactly is in line to buy into Enyaq and what chance is there that a brand that for long has stood for value might get an electric car into the sub-$80,000 zone, and thus also attract the Clean Car rebate?

MOTORINGNZ: The mindset for Skoda has always been as a value brand, now you’re proposing to be premium. Is this the start of a policy applying to all Skoda cars from now on?

Rodney Gillard: No. Our first electric car comes into the market as a premium offering. Our electric portfolio in the future, which will be unveiled over time, will offer other cars for Skoda NZ.

If you look at the Skoda brand, and the customer base, we still have ICE (internal combustion) product at an entry level, we still have a corporate offering, we still have a value offering … and then our electric starts, as a launch model, as a premium offering.

Is Enyaq iV Sportline aimed primarily at a private buyer?

That’s a really good question. The Enyaq is a large SUV. Yes, it’s a premium offering, but small to medium enterprises might want to buy it. It’s a good-sized car and I could see someone thinking ‘why shouldn’t a small to medium business buy it for, say, the boss?’

 What resistance do you expect to feel from existing Skoda owners who might have reasonably expected this car to be the MEB price leader?

 We’re starting with premium and there are going to be customers who have made that (Skoda) choice because it is a value proposition. I believe some of our customers will be surprised.

In saying that, 50 percent of our sales in the last four years have been an RS, a Monte Carlo or a Sportline. Our customers are already walking into that space. They are looking at the Skoda as a value proposition but they are also wanting a high specification proposition as well. Customers are making that choice.

Nonetheless there are now three Volkswagen Group brands that have now announced cars with the same drivetrain, the same battery with the same power outputs. Your car is sitting, at best, $7000 less than an Audi Q4 and $13,000 above an entry Volkswagen ID.4. That’s surely out of kilter with where people expect Skoda to be, not least with VW – we’ve always expected Skoda to be placing under the parent.

 I’ve had a lot of chats to the factory about this. They are finding in Europe, and I believe we will find it in NZ, that the reason I think customers will like the Enyaq Sportline will come when they drive it.

I think the customer, once they get in the car and drive it, and see the spec that it offers … and that premium drive, a beautiful looking car. I think those customers will see the value.

In the United Kingdom the battery size you have chosen is mainly married to a dual motor configuration. Is that something you are looking at?

We want to have a portfolio of electric cars. At the moment we are launching this Sportline. In Europe there is a dual motor vRS, I’ve been lucky enough to drive one. I’m hoping that, down the track, we will be in that position. At the moment we are not.

Is the vRS another Enyaq for which you will have to battle to achieve reasonable pricing?

I don’t know about that with pricing. The challenge is getting any solid production into New Zealand. That’s for us to work through and, hopefully, over time I’ll be in the position to talk about what the full future of battery electric is for the brand in NZ. At the moment I can only talk about the Sportline.

 As is, doesn’t your pricing suggest that the Clean Car rebate, which is clearly driving sales of EVs that qualify, doesn’t matter to your brand?

I wouldn’t say that at all. I think the growth of electric over the past year since the Clean Car introduced has proven a point. It has been a good kick start for some brands. We’re not in that position today. Are we going to be in that position tomorrow? I can’t answer that.